Tesco has revealed that group retail sales for the 13 weeks ended 29 May 2021 increased 1% on a like-for-like basis compared with 2019, which saw a 9.3% increase, despite the supermarket being open during the lockdown periods.
Across the board, UK sales grew by only 0.5% to £10bn, accounting for the majority of the £13.4bn overall retail sales for the period.
Online demand remained high at 1.3 million orders per week, however, up 22.2%, reflecting the continued surge in people shopping online.
The easing of hospitality restrictions in May helped the group’s wholesale division, Booker, which increased by 9.3% and represented £1.7bn of the total sales.
Ken Murphy, chief executive, Tesco, said: “We have further strengthened our commitment to delivering consistent, reliable value and to rewarding loyalty, as we extended Clubcard Prices to all Express stores.
“We remain focused on delivering great value, increasing loyalty and further developing our digital platform so we can serve our customers when, how and where they want.”
He added: “Our profit guidance from April remains unchanged. While the market outlook remains uncertain, I’m pleased with the strong start we’ve made to the year and continue to be excited about the many opportunities we have to create value over the longer term.”
